1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for introducing a sound outside a vehicle, configured to, in order to safely drive a vehicle, collect a sound outside the vehicle via a microphone device arranged on the vehicle, introduce the collected sound into an interior of the vehicle and reproduce the collected sound via a speaker device, the system being configured to automatically control the introduction of the sound outside the vehicle according to the driving state of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of conventional systems for introducing a sound outside a vehicle are described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-180836 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 8-2339 and 2009-113528, which are described below. The system described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-180836 is one configured to reproduce sounds outside a vehicle via a speaker upon a switch being turned on. The system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-2339 is one configured to, if a sound outside a vehicle corresponds to a sound registered in advance, reproduce the sound via a speaker device. The system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-113528 is one configured to, if an illuminance detected by a sensor for illuminance outside the vehicle is equal to or below a threshold value set in advance or the vehicle is positioned within a residential area or within a set distance from the residential area, turn a microphone device on to reproduce sounds outside the vehicle via a speaker device.
The system described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-180836 requires the driver to operate the switch in order to introduce sounds outside the vehicle, and such operation is troublesome. Meanwhile, with the systems described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 8-2339 and 2009-113528, introduction of sounds outside the vehicle can automatically be controlled according to the state outside the vehicle. However, with the system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-2339, sounds outside the vehicle cannot be reproduced via the speaker device unless the sounds correspond to sounds registered in advance. Also, with the system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-113528, sounds outside the vehicle cannot be reproduced via the speaker device unless an illuminance detected by the sensor for illuminance outside the vehicle is equal to or below a threshold value set in advance or the vehicle is positioned within a residential area or within a set distance from the residential area.
The present invention is intended to solve the aforementioned problems in the conventional techniques and provide a system for introducing a sound outside a vehicle, configured to automatically control introduction of sounds outside a vehicle according to a driving state of the vehicle.